Quantitative and qualitative methods for the study of urban settlements

This paper presents the main methodological features of one research about the processes of urbanization and transformation of urban centers in the plain of the Alt Empordà (Girona). Through this methodology has been identified a new and complex urban model, which is deployed on the territory with new patterns of urbanization. On the one hand cartography and GIS have made possible the analysis of different patterns of urban development. On the other hand, the interviews allowed more complex understanding of aspects such as the factors that are behind the changes and the role that different actors in urban and territorial dynamics. This methodology is applicable to other coastal areas of Catalonia, the whole of Spain and other parts of Mediterranean Europe.